Housing demand picks up in NCR; sales up 18% in January-June

NEW DELHI: Housing sales have risen by 18 per cent in the Delhi-NCR region during the first half of this year at 35,000 units, showing signs of improvement in the property market that has been facing slowdown in demand.

"During H1 2013, the NCR residential market witnessed a total absorption of 35,000 units showing an increase of 18 per cent from H1 2012. This increase in sales can be ascribed to the high number of project launches in the affordable category," property consultant Knight Frank India said.

The absorption in Greater Noida rose almost four times compared to the same period in 2012 suggesting a strong demand for affordable options, it added.

Greater Noida witnessed sales of 14,300 units in H1 2013, as against 3,750 units in the year-ago period.

The absorption levels dipped in both Gurgaon and Noida, largely due to increasing unaffordability of housing options available in these markets.

"The NCR market is striving for a better equilibrium. Developers are focusing on project completion and deferring new launches," the consultant said.

Knight Frank said that sluggish buyer sentiments have discouraged sales in some areas, but locations like Dwarka Expressway, Noida Expressway and Greater Noida would continue to lure investors.

On supply side, nearly 49,000 units were launched during the January-June period, showing increase of 11 per cent compared to H1 2012.

Nearly 5.4 lakh residential units are under construction in the NCR market. The unsold inventory is pegged at about 1.32 lakh units, comprising unsold units in ready as well as under construction projects.

"The NCR residential market indicated signs of stability in H1 2013," Knight Frank India Chairman and Managing Director Shishir Baijal said.
The developers are keeping new launches in check in order to bridge the supply and demand gap, he added.

"Over the past two years, the NCR market has experienced a fall in launches by nearly 40 per cent compared to the peak levels of 2010. Both short term and long term moving average of launches confirm a plummeting trend," Knight Frank's Chief Economist & Director Research Samantak Das said.
"However, demand has recently stabilised and improved in the last few quarters, which sketches a healthy residential market scenario for NCR and if the supply-demand gap tapers further, the region is likely to face an upward pressure on property prices," he added.